Ruth - The Original

Ruth was a 1994 Toyota Landcruiser Prado KZJ78 was imported from Japan into Zambia in 2005 by an American Embassy worker who owned the car until 2009. It was subsequently purchased by an Australian VSO Volunteer who owned the car for 18 months before selling it to us in November 2010 where we began the process of making many modifications to transform it from a Japanese 'soccer mum' car into a true Overland 4x4.

Why “Ruth”?

Ruth was named by the previous owners after Ruth Mallory wife of George Mallory the famous Mt. Everest mountaineer. She was named Ruth because Ruth Mallory was known to be loyal and reliable… all qualities you want in an Overland 4x4.

Specifications:

Make: Toyota

Model: Landcruiser Prado KZJ78

Year: 1994

Engine: 1KZT-E 3L Turbo Diesel (2982cc)

Fuel: Diesel

Fuel Capacity: 80L (180L with Jerry Cans)

Transmission: Automatic

Drive: Right Hand Drive

Country of Origin: Japan

Country of Registration: Zambia

We spent a lot of time and money modifying Ruth to make her work as an overland vehicle with many modifications:

New 1KZ-TE Cylinder Head after suffering a cracked cylinder head - the standard problem with this engine - a byproduct of an aluminium cylinder head, low maintenance and a deliberately crippled temperature gauge (to prevent scaring the soccer mums).
Genuine Toyota radiator to help prevent the cracked cylinder head problem recurring.
Garmin Nuvi 205W GPS with Tracks4Africa maps.
Ironman 4x4 Suspension Lift Kit (with steering damper) to make the car slightly less droopy.
4x BF Goodrich Mud Terrain T/A KM2 Tyres after a particularly bad experience with cheap Falken tyres on Namibia’s skeleton coast.
2x Falken Landair/AT Traction spare tyres (one on rear and one on roof)
Eezi-Awn Jazz Tent 1.2m - a great little tent that feels bigger than the numbers suggest.
Custom Roof Rack with 2x Lockable 20L Jerry Can Holders
5x 20L Jerry Cans (including two on roof) bringing total fuel capacity to 180L at the cost of quite a bit of internal room.
Dual Battery System with Exide Starting and Exide 100aH Deep Cycle Battery and Redarc SBI12 Isolator. DC-to-DC chargers were not readily available at the time.

40L Engel 12/240V Refrigerator where we were the third owners but even on its last legs it was an invaluable addition to overland travel.
12-240V 300W Pure Sine Wave Inverter (for charging Laptops/Cameras/Phones/iPod on the go).
Safari Snorkel Clone to reduce the amount of dust sucked into the air filter.
Aussie Locker XD-20830 Auto Locking Differential in rear which made sand driving in the Chobe National Park a breeze… and carparks horrible (clunk, clunk, clunk).
Hella 700FF spotlights mounted on Front Bumper (extra large and super bright).
Braai (BBQ grill) which mounts to rear spare tyre.
35% Tinting on all windows except Windscreen (to stop people looking in) - and sometimes from the driver seeing out at night.
Manual Locking Hubs to replace the factory electric (lazy) ones which have a history of failure.
Safety Equipment: Fire Extinguisher and Triangles.
Shovel.